When I was younger, my brain could spiral into days of intense distress at the simplest of things. Accidentally kicking a pebble on the pavement would invoke an influx of intrusive thoughts, each of them coming with a huge amount of guilt and the certainty that consequences of this small action would be my fault.
Read MoreAs a black pharmacist it’s quite difficult to dissociate the virus from racism. BIPOC people statistically are dying at a greater rate at the hands of COVID and this is combined with direct negligence.
Read MoreMy profession also had to move online. I work as a life model; posing nude for art schools, universities and community groups, as well as facilitating my own life drawing class in Bristol, with a collective of life models (United Models Life Drawing).
Read MoreMy initial reaction, as an introvert, was glee: I was being told that I had to stay inside and work from home, which meant that I was saving money on transport, lunch, and events in the city centre. Plus, I could have more leisure time, something my 2-hour weekday commute did not easily allow. I also rarely get lonely, and I live with my partner anyway so I didn’t see the issue!
Read MoreWhen my Mum innocently pointed out I had little rosebuds, I shrunk into myself as best I could. I was around 13. I spent most of the next few years going about in baggy T shirts and bending myself inwards to try to hide my developing body, I was ashamed and embarrassed.
Read MoreThrough my parents’ divorce, I realised my mother was one of the strongest women I know. Fast forward some months after they had announced their legal separation and my mother and I were driving to the gym. She had been trying desperately to engage me in bonding activities and the gym was another to add to the list. As we pulled into the car park, she grasped my hand in between hers and, with tears forming in her eyes, whispered “please don’t hate me”. I paused, unsure how to respond and she continued “I’ve fallen in love…with a woman”.
Read MoreFor me, I have had my own close call. At nineteen, I entered the worst mental health crisis I have ever experienced. I was paranoid, hallucinating and very suicidal. I reached out for help from mental health services only to be told that “we don’t treat people with your diagnosis”, “we treat people with mental illnesses, not personality disorders”.
Read MoreIf you could visit anywhere in the world of fantasy – where would you go? Would you go down the rabbit hole to Wonderland or fly to Neverland? What about a visit to Mordor or a secret visit to Hogwarts? Perhaps you would visit Winnie the Pooh for a picnic in the Hundred Acre Woods? Just imagine the chance of visiting the Cave of Wonders and finding a genie in a lamp! The possibilities are endless although impossible to visit, your imagination can only take you so far after all – or so I thought.
Read MoreCisgendered ‘gender roles’, and indeed the performance of gender altogether, has formed the basis of the family unit for years. At its most basic, men are expected to be powerful, leading figures, while women must be subservient and completely charming.
Read MoreAs single mother to a little boy, I must confess that I have an addiction and I hope that it is one I will never be cured of. The awe and anticipation that travelling the world brings, plus all the lessons along the way, is a passion that I cannot escape and one that I am determined to pass onto my son.
Read MoreLike flares drifting through a dark sky, these little moments of goofiness light up the monotony of lockdown. It might be a daydreamy waltz around the kitchen while waiting for the kettle to boil, or tuneless yodelling floating from the bathroom while the shower runs.
Read MoreI’ve always thought of myself as a spontaneous person. One day when I was 17 I logged onto my UCAS account and rejected all my university offers (much to my mother’s despair) in favour of going to theatre school to study sound and lighting design.
Read MoreFor much of my life I’ve suffered from anxiety. Eczema. Pins and needles. Overwhelming emotions. It’s come out in various forms. However in the last six months I’ve experienced a continuous wave of hypochondriasis.
Read MoreTo this day, I’m still not quite sure how I survived all my housemates at university. Before going to university, I never thought I would struggle so much to understand and be understood by other people but living in a house with a bunch of psychopaths really changes your perspective. And trust me, I don’t use that word lightly.
Read MoreGlastonbury. That one word, for so many people, triggers a firework display of thoughts and memories - the good, the bad and the bloody brilliant.
Read MoreEvery choice I make kills a potential future…Some of these future selves are trivial duplicities, undistinguishable from my current self, but others are wildly different. They deserve a proper burial and a proper wake.
Read MoreIt’s been two months of lockdown. I have never in 26 years of life gone through a crisis that mirrors this pandemic. I am still not sure I understand what is going on, two months in. A lot of things that I once took for granted, now seem obsolete.
Read MoreWhen most people my age were thinking about the song they wanted played as their first dance on their wedding day, I spent my time thinking about what song I wanted to be played at my funeral.
Read MoreFor the first time in our lives, we are experiencing the same devastating, bizarre sequence of events simultaneously. Yes, coronavirus is affecting us all in different strengths and volumes, but we can each immediately understand one another’s thought process. It has released a heightened sense of empathy.
Read MoreIf I am completely honest, I was petrified by the thought of this. I was a 20-year-old girl at University, studying a subject utterly unrelated to the music industry, and with no business qualifications. I was definitely ‘unqualified’. But there I was, and there was no turning back.
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